What do Eivind Aadland, Nils Petter Molvær and Transjoik have in common, except from being excellent Norwegian musicians? The last few days, all of them have been awarded prestigious prizes.

Conductor and violinist Eivind Aadland was the first ever to receive the new Sibelius price this previous Friday. Aadland is today Chief Conductor and Artistic Leader to Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and has quickly established himself as one of Norway’s leading conductors with a growing international reputation. The prize is hand out by the Norwegian Sibelius Society. It is 10 years since the society was established, and the new prize in the name of the famous Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius, is a celebration of the anniversary. 100 000 NOK (USD 14 500, € 12 300) comes with the recognition.

Finnish music has meant a whole lot for Aadland.”Without the old maestro Jorma Panula, I would never have become a conductor, says Aadland to the Norwegian newspaper Adressavisen. For four years, he studied at the SibeliusAcademy in Helsinki, the Finnish Music University where Jorma Panula was professor from 1973 to 1993.

Best BuddyTrumpeter Nils Petter Molvær was awarded the highest recognition within Norwegian Jazz this weekend, the Buddy prize. Norwegian Jazz Forum celebrated its 50th anniversary and the organisation awarded Molvær the jubilee Buddy for his accomplishment within Norwegian jazz the past 20 years. The jury said Molvær’s “distinctive musical character is influenced by ethnic music, electronic music, rock and new music, but he has developed his style into something unique. The Buddy winner has positioned himself as an instrumentalist and composer, and is one of our musicians with the strongest international carrier today ”.

Putting Sami on the mapThe Sami group Transjoik received a different, but also prestigious recognition. They won "Liet Ynternasjonaal" in the Netherlands, or the Eurovision Song Contest for minority languages in Europe. Nine artists participated, and Transjoik pulled the most votes. They competed against artists singing in Catalonian and Friesian, among others.

Transjoik is one of the most influential Sami bands these days. The music is based on traditional Sami “joik” (yoik), but terms such as ambient, trance, and techno, as well as world music, are also used to describe their style. The competition has made Transjoik visible for a larger audience, and in addition to an interview on Dutch TV, they also received positive reviews by several European Television stations.